Why such horrible purchasing options?

I’ve only seen a few places to the “buy points” type of system. Purchase points, buy items with points. Wii and XBox being two… EZPass being another. I just love spending $20, to buy a $5 game and then letting the remainder sit in someone else’ bank account earning them interest….

Other option? $2 fee on a $6 theme for the privilege of using Paypal.

I’d love to purchase A theme… $20 for a $6 theme? No. $2 fee for a $6 purchase? No.

Every other place allows me to purchase an item with a Visa/Mastercard. One purchase. One transaction. No other hassle needed.

I’m not trying to flame (although I am ranting a little bit), but why would a site choose such silly options for payment? I hate not being able to buy what I want because of a BS system getting in my way.

I know the options seem a bit useless, but keep in mind that any “one-off” purchase using a credit card also involves a processing fee which in this case is supported by Envato. Also, together with the deposit option, it’s part of an attempt to win you over as a customer, in case you are satisfied with your first purchase. There’s nothing wrong with that really… It’s a simple trade off, and frankly, if one were to follow a specific logic, 6+2 is clearly lower than 20, and hence, it fits the needs of MOST buyers.

I know this doesn’t help you further in any way, just wanted to clarify the fact that these options are there for a reason, and not just meant to suck up cash from “unwilling buyers”

contrastblack said
I know the options seem a bit useless, but keep in mind that any “one-off” purchase using a credit card also involves a processing fee which in this case is supported by Envato. Also, together with the deposit option, it’s part of an attempt to win you over as a customer, in case you are satisfied with your first purchase. There’s nothing wrong with that really… It’s a simple trade off, and frankly, if one were to follow a specific logic, 6+2 is clearly lower than 20, and hence, it fits the needs of MOST buyers.
I know this doesn’t help you further in any way, just wanted to clarify the fact that these options are there for a reason, and not just meant to suck up cash from “unwilling buyers”

I understand credit processing fee’s, shipping costs, etc. This is still “outside of the norm” from all my other shopping experiences (I, like most, do a LOT of shopping online – not just amazon).

I don’t buy that excuse.

Processing fee’s are ~2% (plus whatever monthly membership fee’s. spread over all the sales on a site, I’ll give it ~3%. Maybe ~4%). Not 25% ($2 + $6 is an $8 charge. $2/8 = 25%. Hell… also add the cut that paypal charges to put money in your paypal account, might as well add another $1 cost).

I can pick up any number of one-off purchases, from any number of small businesses without having to pay a $2 fee. Heck on a stick, I can buy a soda from a machine at the beach with my Master Card for the same as it would cost to buy it from a gas-station without paying a $2 fee.

infuse01 said
Maybe it’s the wrong perspective you’re looking through. You shouldn’t look at it that you need to pay more when you don’t want to make a deposit, but rather you get an extra bonus if you do so.
And what’s 2$ extra for a template?

What’s an extra $2 fee for everything I do then? The nickle and dimes add up. When I buy something for $6, I want to pay… $6 (taxes not withstanding). I don’t pay $1.50 + $2 for a soda… I don’t pay $15 + $2 for a book on amazon. I don’t pay $1 + $2 for a track on iTunes…

Nor do I have to ring up a balance to buy a single app on Google Play. I don’t have to buy a $60 card to purchase a $15 game on Steam.

These options are… bewildering.

I may be weird, but I just wanted to see if I was alone in thinking this, although I probably should have made the title “Why such a weird/bewildering set of purchasing options?”

WernerCD said
I may be weird, but I just wanted to see if I was alone in thinking this, although I probably should have made the title “Why such a weird/bewildering set of purchasing options?”

if you wish, for 2$ I am willing to change the topic title for you

Jokes aside, I get your point, but there may be some changes in the future (and this is a personal statement, not something I know of for sure, because frankly I have no clue of future development plans) that the surcharge might become a percentage rather than a fixed amount, but if you look at it from the other side of the fence, and notice that a 40$ theme being sold with a 2$ surcharge is quite decent, and it’s not that disturbing.

Also, regarding your soda-machine example, I love it, I really do, but I can’t say I’ve had the chance to do that. If I want to buy a pack of cigarettes with my card, I need to purchase 2 and up, or no cigar… so to say. I know what you’ll say… “what country do you live in??!” but that sort of beats the purpose of this discussion. Fact of the matter is, as astounding as it might be, it’s not much of a “win” for Envato if they charge the 2$ for one-off purchases, and nor is the “one-off” purchase of a 6$ (or less) item, for it to cover the transaction expences.

p.s: itunes, funny you should bring that up, given the existence of prepaid cards

dtbaker said
Would this have caused the same concern if the website was worded as “Get $2 discount off item cost by using pre-paid credits?”
So the advertised price is $8, but if you deposit $20+ prepaid you can get the item for a discoutned $6?

There are some complaints I used to receive here and there regarding the $2 difference. I think all authors who advertise their files on Adobe Exchange and similar listing sites might already facing buyer emails such as “Disappointing, I thought this is really $10 but you ask 2 more only when I purchase?”. We can solve this by always pointing price+2 on external sites but there is a better / honest alternative.

WernerCD said
I’d love to purchase A theme… $20 for a $6 theme? No. $2 fee for a $6 purchase? No.

I think Envato should consider atleast reducing the $2 surcharge into $1. Do we authors really want the % share of that $2 at the cost of making buyers unhappy? I don’t think Envato gains much from the $2 as they get only 30 to 50% of $2. While authors never want that additional fraction at the cost of creating bitterness/struggle to buyers.

For healthy long run and buyer relationship improvement, I think Envato should consider reducing the surcharge into $1 and no need to pay the additional fraction to author commission. It is clear, there is no complexities applying that.